(1) Howls of Change (D. Hale)

Chapter One

Sigrid stands outside of the Hale house with her hands tucked into her pockets the next morning. Her eyes scan over what is left of the building. She knew there was a fire. Laura told her about it. But she just never contemplated what that would look like. How bad it would look. There is barely anything of the house left. But she thought to come here and try, just in case Laura was still sniffing around. Or at least came up here regularly enough that she might catch her scent. First she has to get her scent on this place. The idea of going into that house is a daunting one though. There is just something off about it. She takes a deep breath and then heads towards the house. Heading up the steps towards the front door. Feeling as though every step she takes is in slow motion. There is just something about this place. She pushes open the door, letting it swing open with ease due to the damaged wood. She pulls a face as the smell of burnt wood invades her nose. Her feet carrying her forward as her eyes scan around because that uneasy feeling is worse inside the house. A darkness has settled into the ruined walls. Death and pain. Sigrid lets out a soft breath as she closes the door behind her. It's a strong and haunted aura that she can feel brushing against her skin.

"Laura?" She asks as she glances around. Just in case. Just in case she's here somewhere. But Sigrid is sure that she would have come out to greet her by now if she was. A creaking of a door or a floorboard upstairs jolts her slightly. Of course, an old house like this would creak, especially if it is threatening to fall apart. Her phone rings in her pocket causing her to jump. She snorts, annoyed at herself. She shouldn't be scared of a burnt-out house, that's just ridiculous. After everything that she's been through it will not be a house that gets her. She pulls the ringing item from her jacket pocket "Hey" She greets as she picks up the line.

"Are you in Beacon Hills?" Isla's voice asks and Sigrid blinks a little at the abruptness of her mother's question. Not even a hello. There is something in her mother's voice that she has heard in a few years.

"Well, hello, Mother, lovely of you to call me" She comments dryly as she tucks the phone between her ear and her shoulder to adjust her jacket. "Yes, I am in Beacon Hills. I'm doing a favour for Laura Hale"

"You shouldn't be there" Isla argues. "You have...duties and obligations here..." Sigrid rolls her eyes a little. Her mother has been overly worried about her since the battle of Hogwarts, but this is the worst she's sounded. She sounds really concerned that Sigrid is here. She's not sure if this is a thing because it's America, which doesn't make sense considering she lives here now. Or if it is Beacon Hills specifically, which seems most likely.

"Okay, it's only Beacon Hills" She argues as she grabs a pen from the inside of her jacket along with a small square notepad. "I'll only be a few days...."

"It's important" Isla argues quickly. "You should come home right now" Sigrid frowns a little and pulls a face. She's never heard her mother sound so insistent. She didn't think that telling her mother that she was going to some small town in California was such a big deal, that's why she didn't tell her. She only came to check on Laura, her friend. That's something she grew up believing to be a big deal. Protection of her friends. Laura is her friend, therefore she needs to look out for her.

"Just give me a few days to make sure she's okay" Sigrid argues. "To finish this....it's some backwater town in California, I am sure I can survive a few days here...." She moves to the stairs and crouches, setting the notepad down to write on it. To leave a message for Laura, just in case she does come back here. "And then you can explain why this town bothers you so much...."

"It doesn't bother me" Isla argues, defending herself with a very clear lie. It's very clear that she has an issue with this town but Sigrid's never heard her mention it before, so it's strange to her for her mother to react this way to finding out that she is here. Sigrid hums a little as she writes out her note to Laura.

"Clearly" She states and then sighs. "Look, I'll call you later"

"Siri" Isla starts but Sigrid just wants to hang up and get out of this place. Her skin is crawling, as if she's been watched and she wants to leave so badly. Sigrid then hangs up, which she will apologise for later. She turns as she tucks her phone away, her eyes flickering around. She swears there is someone here. It's hard to scent it because of all the burnt wood, but maybe she can smell another scent on top of it. Maybe. It's so hard to pick them apart. That burnt smell is so pungent it overtakes anything else. She can barely even smell herself. She finishes off her note and pulls it from the pad before looking around for somewhere to leave it. It won't stick to burnt wood so she has to find a place void of that.